Police arrest Bnei Brak man over Latrun vandalism
Man, 21, to face charges over anti-Christian graffiti that sparked condemnation at home and abroad
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
Police arrested a man in connection with a vandalism attack on a monastery outside Jerusalem last year that drew harsh condemnation from Israeli and international figures.
The man, 21, from Bnei Brak, was due to appear before the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court on Monday to be arraigned on charges of arson, vandalism, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
The arrest was made following a 10-month undercover operation by the police’s international investigations unit.
The September 2012 graffiti attack at the Monastery of the Silent Monks included the epithet “Jesus is a monkey” daubed on a wall and, at the time, was believed by police to be a “price tag” response by extremists to the evacuation of West Bank outposts earlier in the same week.
The graffiti also read “Mutual responsibility Ramat Migron, Maoz Esther,” the names of two outposts repeatedly uprooted by Israeli security forces.
Vandals apparently also tried to burn the door of the Trappist monastery, which served as a way-station for pilgrims from Jaffa to Jerusalem in the 19th century.
Until 1960, its rules included a vow to refrain from idle talk and to uphold silence at all times — except during prayer.
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The attack drew broad condemnation from the prime minister, ministers, politicians, and a spokesperson from the Migron settler community, as well as officials abroad.
After the attack, a number of Vatican custodians in Israel issued a letter calling on Jerusalem to take action against anti-Christian attacks.
“Sadly, what happened in Latrun is only another in a long series of attacks against Christians and their places of worship,” the letter read.
The term “price tag” is used to describe crimes carried out by extremist Jews as ostensible retribution for Israeli government actions — such as demolition of illegal West Bank construction — which they deem contrary to settler interests.
